Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQH. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Equitable news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total transaction of $5,803,122.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at $3,374,399.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,087,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,825,306. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 202,411 shares of company stock valued at $7,646,571. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $42.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.88. Equitable has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $42.55.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.72%.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.